There are few items of clothing in a man's wardrobe more masculine and effortlessly stylish than a leather jacket. Originally favoured by motorists and aviators (in the days when cars and aircraft had open sides) because of the protection they offered against the elements and their resistance to dust and oil, they later became associated with various sub-cultures, from punks and rockers to bikers - affirmed by numerous famous wearers from Mr Sid Vicious to Mr Marlon Brando as the leather jacket-clad gang leader, Johnny Strabler, in The Wild One (1953). Today, leather jackets are a mainstream wardrobe essential, although they continue to speak of ruggedness and rebellion, something which goes a long way in explaining their timeless appeal.

nine MEN WHO WORE THEM WELL

Seen here on the set of The Wild One (1953), Mr Brando's rebellious look was a key part of the birth of youth culture... and he looked damn cool while he was at it

Dapper in traditional leather and shearling aviator jackets, Messrs Niven and Flynn are pictured here in The Dawn Patrol (1938). War never looked so stylish

Cry-Baby (1990) was partly intended as a parody of the adolescent delinquency scare movies of the 1950s. In the film, Mr Depp rocks a leather jacket just as well as the original celluloid badboys, Messrs Brando and Dean

That leather jackets "solve the coat problem" may have been one of Mr Einstein's less important discoveries, but is nonetheless one with which we agree wholeheartedly. The physicist is seen here at home in Princeton, NJ, in 1938

In between breaking up fights on the street and winning the hearts of at least half the female population, Mr Gosling finds time to demonstrate how to wear a leather jacket perfectly

Although indelibly associated with the trench coat from his role in Casablanca, Mr Bogart looked just as good in leather, here pulling off the jacket and smart shirt with the right amount of attitude

The Sex Pistols scandalised the British public with their dress and antics. A Daily Mirror headline in 1976 demanded to know "Who are these punks?" Nobody stopped to appreciate how good Mr Vicious looked in his leather jacket

Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, the motorbike-riding, high-school drop out from Happy Days, played by Mr Winkler, could not only summon hoards of adoring girls by snapping his fingers, but also wore leather jackets with enviable effortlessness